QUEANBEYAN is set for a warm and woolly makeover this October as a group of not-so-renegade residents gear up to 'yarn bomb' the town.
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Public artworks and outdoor structures will be be covered in colorful displays of knitted or crocheted wool for a limited period as part of the 'yarn bomb'
The project, titled 'The Great Queanbeyan Stitch Up', is set to coincide with the Queanbeyan River Festival on October 17.
Queanbeyan local Lori Mancell is heading the community project and said they were looking at sites including the Sensory Garden. However, she said the piece de resistance would be to yarn bomb the Queen's Bridge.
She estimates they need a minimum of 175 metres of knitted material to cover the traffic thoroughfare.
"I wanted to create something happy, fun, warm and fuzzy. I think people will smile when they see it," Ms Mancell said.
"And I thought it would be a fun way to integrate myself into Queanbeyan, that's why I started this project."
The project hinges on the community's involvement and there will be a workshop next month to gauge local interest.
Later down the track, there will be 'yarn-ins' or 'knit-ins' to teach beginners and get those needles click-clacking.
"I need your squares, I need your stitches. Just anyone who is willing to volunteer wool or time to make things, that would be great," Ms Mancell said.
Once the project is done and dusted, the artwork will be upcycled with sections donated as blankets to local charities.
"Temporary art provides a different opportunity for experimentation and creativity...if it doesn't work, it will still look great just because of the vibrancy of the event," Ms Mancell said.
The 'Great Queanbeyan Stitch Up' is being run in partnership with Queanbeyan City Council who will also be running other art initiatives at the River Festival including the Clearwater Sculpture Prize and mosaic platypus community sculpture.
Cultural development officer Georgina Perri said they have had great success with attracting community involvement to past art projects and she expects this one to be no different.
"We've had such a fantastic response to the permanent public art we have and doing an ephemeral project like this is something we haven't tried before, so that's exciting," she said
"We love community interaction and giving the community the opportunity to get their hands dirty and pitch in.
"We've got so many crafty people in Queanbeyan but I'm sure it'll bring lots of crafty people out of the woodwork that would like to be crafty and they'll be able to pick up this skill really quickly and easily.
"We'll wrap up Queanbeyan with warm fuzzy love."
To get involved or find out more information visit facebook.com/thegreatqueanbeyanstitchup or email queanbeyanstitchup@gmail.com.